Thai Dissident Gets 7.5-Year Prison Term for Royal Insults

Feb. 28 (Bloomberg) -- A Thai man who helped lead anti-government protests was sentenced to seven and half years in
jail for insulting the royal family.

Surachai Danwattananusorn, 68, had a 15-year prison term
cut in half because he pleaded guilty to the charges, Bangkok’s
Criminal Court said today. His legal team will seek a royal
pardon, even as police investigate an additional complaint
against Surachai, lawyer Karom Ponpornklang told reporters.

“Surachai has accused the monarchy of being behind
protests and conflicts in the country,” the court said in its
ruling. “This is not true as the monarchy’s activities are for
the benefit of Thai people. His move is considered a severe
offense and does not deserve a suspended punishment. He’s mature
and he still does this.”

The sentence adds to a growing number of lese-majeste
convictions that has prompted a group of local professors to
start a signature campaign to amend the law, sparking criticism
from the army chief. The U.S., European Union and United Nations
have called on Thailand to respect freedom of speech following
convictions last year.

The law, which falls under Article 112 of the criminal
code, mandates jail sentences as long as 15 years for defaming,
insulting or threatening the king, queen, heir apparent or
regent. Last month the Campaign Committee for the Amendment of
Article 112 started gathering 10,000 signatures to change the
law, including reducing the maximum penalty to three years for
insulting the king and two years for other family members.

Army Chief

Army Chief Prayuth Chan-Ocha this month urged law
professors backing the movement to stop their efforts, the
Bangkok Post reported on Feb. 6. King Bhumibol Adulyadej, 84,
took the throne in 1946 and serves as head of state. Thailand’s
constitution says the king “shall be enthroned in a position of
revered worship and shall not be violated.”

Surachai is among 12 leaders of the United Front for
Democracy Against Dictatorship, known as the Red Shirts, who
haven’t received bail after being charged with insulting the
royal family, Human Rights Watch said on Feb. 25. The Red Shirts
led protests against the former government in 2009 and 2010 in
which more than 90 people died.

Surachai pleaded guilty in part because he has been denied
bail since being detained a year ago and was suffering from a
heart condition, hypertension and diabetes, Human Rights Watch
said. He led a group called Red Siam, a faction of the Red
Shirts that expressed anti-monarchy opinions, the group said.

Cases Grow

The number of lese-majeste cases before Thailand’s lower
courts increased to 478 in 2010 from 33 in 2005, a year before
the coup that ousted former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra,
according to statistics compiled by the campaign committee.
Thaksin’s sister, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, took power
in August after Thaksin’s allies won a majority in July
elections.

U.S. citizen Joe Gordon, who was born in Thailand and also
goes by the name Lerpong Wichaikhammat, received a two-and-a-half year prison sentence on Dec. 8 for translating an
unauthorized biography of King Bhumibol and posting it on a
website. Two weeks earlier, Ampol Tangnoppakul, 61, received a
20-year jail term for sending four text messages that defamed
Queen Sirikit.